Making Dreams Come True

Emily Hewett, Principal & Interior Designer, A Well Dressed Home, LLC, is the creative yet business-minded force behind the company’s unique employee structure and meticulous design processes. When Emily started the business in 2010, her immediate focus was to establish a standardized formula for a design process that would provide a client with the most efficient and impactful experience offered in the industry. “After a few years of developing and enhancing the company’s procedures, the processes were proving successful. I then shifted my focus from client experience to employee opportunity,” says Emily. “After several years of interviewing and hiring employees, it became apparent that residential designers were desperate for an employer that offered more room for personal and professional growth and financial freedom. My goal was to create paths for them to earn just that.”

Emily is a Dallas native, graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design, and has over 20 years of experience in the design industry. She takes pride in transforming dated spaces into sophisticated, functional family retreats, with designs recognized for encompassing current trends while remaining polished and timeless. With an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for interior design, Emily had long aspired to start her design venture.

The pioneering leader has fast culminated into a support system for women entrepreneurs and team members over time. Emily has had many female business owners from different industries reach out and ask to “pick my brain” over lunch or coffee. “I have always taken the opportunity to lend my best guidance and advice to other business owners and team leaders and lead them toward success,” explains Emily. “The definition of success is so subjective. Some would say it was when they landed their first client, won their first design award, had their first magazine feature, or met a certain financial goal. Still, the ultimate success for me is observing a happy and fulfilled team that believes in one another and the processes and structure we’ve worked so hard to build together.”

As a female leader, it’s become necessary for Emily to provide growth opportunities that allow females to become what they deem as successful. That might mean being independent and single and traveling the world or a working mom that has the flexibility to be around for more of their kids' activities. Either way, Emily feels it’s essential for them to have a compensation package and flexibility that allows them to continue to work and live the life they want to live. “Many designers quit their jobs once they have kids because the compensation barely covers the cost of child care, and they have little to no flexibility – I want to change that for those that want to earn their way to that level here at AWDH.”

Armed with this brilliant mindset, Emily is taking AWDH to greater heights. The company aims to provide an approachable, transparent design service and turnkey experience from beginning to end. “Our structured design process ensures utmost efficiency, and allows our team of dedicated Interior Designers to bring beautiful, personalized designs to life.”

Trends come and go, but the thoughtfully designed details and elements that make up a well-dressed home are ageless. Their quietly luxurious interiors balance their context and client needs to stand the test of time.

One of AWDH’s most significant achievements is implementing its unique compensation package. Believe it or not, it’s uncommon for a residential firm to offer compensation beyond salary and PTO. “Here at AWDH, we’ve implemented 401k with a match, health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, and profit sharing, and recently, we’ve implemented short term disability, aka maternity leave,” elucidates Emily. “It’s shocking to me that a female-driven industry is known for not offering maternity leave to their employees. We were one of the first residential firms in DFW, if not the first, to offer this type of compensation, and many have started following in our footsteps! We are very proud of that!”

Over the last few years, AWDH has quickly grown from a team of 5 to a team of 18. For the future, Emily’s goal is to start managing each of those employees “up” to prepare them for maximum personal and professional growth within the company. “Due to our growth, our team will move into a brand new showroom in Q4. We will have double the space in a beautiful newly designed office, which we can’t wait to share with our clients!” says Emily. WL